with that deleterious disease, I give the following 
very simple and easy process, which 1 have used 
many years and found a perfect specific: —Pour the 
seed on any tight floor, and to about every bushel 
throw on one pint of air or water slaked lime 
water-slaked is the the best, as it is free of carbonic 
acid, which renders it more or less inactive,—then 
with a shovel thoroughly mix it and leave it in a 
compact pile. Then sprinkle on water till it begins 
to run off* at the bottom ; again thoroughly shovel 
it over, leaving it in a pile till the next day, when 
it is fit for sowing, and may be kept thus for a 
week without injury, if spread out and stirred. 
This process is as effectual as all the far-fetched, 
and empirical nostrums that have ever been pro¬ 
posed. L. 13. Manly. 
Monroe County, N. Y., April, 1859. 
CHEAP MODE OF UNDEBDRAINING. 
Mr. Moore :—I wish to make known to the farm¬ 
ing community, through your valuable paper, a 
cheap and effectual mode of underdraining. I 
would premise by telling you that for the last ten 
years I have underdrained extensively with tile, I was 
and last year, being desirous of draining a piece of 
land very early, I could not for love or money pro¬ 
cure any tile. Being in this predicament, I used 
brush in place of tiles. I had my ditches cut in the 
same manner as for tiles, with the regular draining 
tools, and then laid in brush cut in lengths of four 
or five feet, from 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter. 
On this I placed the smaller brush in bunches; 
then, pressing all down tight, 1 placed a layer of 
straw, and filled in. The land was then ready for 
the plow, and I raised a fair crop of corn. Since 
then a year has elapsed, and this spring the same 
land is already in oats and seeded down. Having 
occasion to put in another branch drain this year, 
in connection with the main one put in last year, I 
examined the old brush and found it as fresh and 
good as the day I put it in. 
Now, Sir, this brush will last for at most twenty 
years, and my drains will have only cost the price 
of digging. Now, this expense lies within the 
reach of every farmer whose land requires drains, 
and what land does not call for it, unless a light 
loam on a gravelly subsoil ? The objection to tiling 
has been that it is too expensive, but I know it will 
pay a heavy per centagc. I now offer a very cheap 
way, if the disposition lies in a man to improve his 
land. Let any farmer give it a fair trial, say only 
on one single acre, and then keep an account of the 
produce of that solitary acre, and he will be satis¬ 
fied. But “ a word to the wise,” Ac. 
Encouraged by what I had done last year, I have 
this year brush-drained a good many acres, and 
now continue to do so. One piece of four acres 
thus done would have required $50 worth of tile. 
This piece was so wet I could do nothing with it; 
but it is now thoroughly drained, as dry as need 
be, and has been plowed and waiting for the proper 
time to receive the corn. I may remark that I had 
heavily manured this piece of land, having hauled 
my manure on it in a frozen condition, but all this 
would have been useless if I had allowed the water 
to remain on inc land. 
If you think these observations are worthy of 
consideration, or a place in your valuable paper, 
you may probably hear from me again on the sub¬ 
ject of draining. Any person desirous of seeing 
this mode of draining can satisfy themselves by 
giving me a call, and I shall be most happy to show 
them and give them all information on that head. 
Yours, Ac., W. L. Logie. 
Wilford Farm, Seneca, N. Y., April, 1859. 
P. S.—I fear many might doubt me if I affirm 
that I have land that has only cost me $5 per acre 
Lo drain, but such is the fact. w. l. l. 
improving the last snows of April to draw out as 
much as possible of the huge deposits which 1 
found accumulated around the barns. Ibis brings 
me to speak more particularly ot my farm. My 
eye had first been attracted by a noble point em¬ 
braced in it, jutting boldly out into a line sheet of 
water. From the bluff at the point the ground 
falls away toward a plank road which intersects 
the farm, leaving on the lake side some fifteen 
acres of beautiful meadow land. We had lately 
been reading Longfellow’s Indian romance, and 
agreed to baptize the place “Muskoday,”—the 
meadows. 
I now began a thorough examination of the soil 
and subsoil, and, greatly to my satisfaction, found 
it much better than I had been led to expect. It 
was called a poor farm—a wet farm, fit for nothing 
but grass, &c. Indeed, its superficial appearance 
justified the most unfavorable criticism. The high 
and dry parts were overrun with Canada thistles. 
On the meadows, the cultivated grasses had run 
out, and been superceded by a dozen varieties of 
the coarsest sedge. The orchard bad apparently 
been unvisited by saw or knife for ten years, and 
choked by excess of wood. There was 
scarcely a fence that would turn a cow of the least 
enterprise. Through the misfortune rather than 
the fault of the old owners, the farm had barely 
produced enough for years before to pay the taxes. 
On examination I found that the higher parts of 
the farm comprised some twenty acres admirably 
adapted to the culture of wheat. The soil was a 
loose gravelly loam, overlying the “ Marcellus 
Shales,” which rapidly disintegrate from the weath¬ 
er, and break up easily under the plow. On this 
land I had two plows at work during the recent 
fine weather, without finding the least obstruction 
from either frost or wet. The rest of the farm I 
found to consist of a rich vegetable mould with 
subsoil of sand, easily worked, and as well adapted 
as any one could desire to corn, vines, roots, or any 
ordinary culture. That it wanted draining was 
obvious. The water stood late upon it in spring 
but it was equally plain, both from the soil and the 
grades, that nothing would be easier than to drain 
it thoroughly. Two or three acres, lying by the 
lake shore, almost swampy, I found to consist' of 
heavy turf resting on a fine grey beach sand ; and 
this I set apart for a cranberry yard. So I had my 
work before me, having spied out the actual naked¬ 
ness of the land, and its potential capabilities. But 
this story has already occupied as much space as I 
can expect. If your patience holds out, I may have 
something to say regarding my further experience 
that will tend to encourage other adventurers in 
farming, whether clerical or lay. 8 . M. n. 
Muskoday Farm, N. Y. 
(£oirttcnscli (Correspondence. 
Plowing-An Experience. 
Having read what lias been said in the Rural 
about plowing deep, and especially in that ofthc 16th 
by brother 0., which revealed his troubles to his 
friends and called upon them for help, I am in¬ 
duced to relate a portion of my experience. When 
but a boy, living at home, I broke up about four 
acres of bard-pan land in February, at an average 
of about four inches, some less than that—the 
plow at all times running on the hard-pan, leaving 
the bottom of the furrow as blue as a whetstone. 
In the spring, sowed to oats, and raised a fair crop. 
Cut very high, and plowed in the stubble as deep 
as two horses could plow, and continued to work 
in the same manner for six years in succession, 
when the hard-pan had entirely disappeared and 
the oats grew so large that it took me from sun¬ 
rise until 5 o’clock to cut them, and at that time my 
cradle could keep up with any in that vicinity. It 
is now twenty years since I broke up that field, and 
it continues to bear large crops of corn, barley and 
grass. I am now on a farm composed of a stiff loam 
from 16 to 20 inches, with a hard-pan subsoil. I get 
the largest corn by plowing deep in the fall and ridg¬ 
ing lightly in the spring, which keeps it dry and 
warm in the spring and causes it to root deep, from 
eight to twelve inches, and thereby enables it to 
stand the drouth in midsummer. My corn was 
the only corn planted in this way in this neigh¬ 
borhood last year, and was affected less by the 
cold, wet weather than any other. I shall continue 
to follow Boor Richard’s saying.—S. E. L., Wirt, 
Allegany Go., N. Y., 1859. 
Culture of Corn. 
A correspondent of the Ohio Cultivator says: 
— The grand axioms in corn raising are — Good 
ground well prepared, early and careful planting, 
early cultivation and hoeing, and destruction of all 
weeds the summer through. If prompt and ener¬ 
getic action is important and necessary anywhere, 
it is most emphatically so in a corn-field. But go 
into any department of labor, and who wins? The 
easy, the indolent, the careless? No ! The Micaw- 
bers who are always waiting for “ something to 
turn up” — some God-send or another— never ac¬ 
complish anything, but die before their visions are 
realized. It is certainly not these, buj. the man of 
energy, of method—the man of steady work and 
close calculation who succeeds, in all positions. 
CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
4 
CLERICAL FARMING. 
1 one day came to the conclusion, like many other 
of my brethren, that I must do something to eke 
out an inadequate salary, and provide for the wants 
of a hearty, hungry family. I was running behind 
every year, and getting in debt. I had a couple of 
stout boys, old enough to be of a good deal of use. 
They were anxious to move into the country. I had 
a passion for the country myself. I was born on a 
farm. But all my practical knowledge of Georgies 
had been confined to the cultivation of a parsonage 
garden, and of Bucolics to the care Of a minister’s 
single cow. 1 enjoyed sound health—hadn’t a 
single clerical disease about me. I had consider¬ 
able confidence in my power of adapting myself to 
circumstances, and doing well whatever I should 
undertake; and as I reached middle life, and my 
hair came to be well streaked with gray, a strong 
yearning grew upon me to become an owner of the 
soil, and wrestle with Nature for a better subsistence 
than my clcricul labors during twenty previous 
years had afforded me. 
So it was decided, after much deliberation in the 
family, and earnest prayer to that Gracious Bower 
who directs the steps of such as wait upon Him, to 
purchase a farm; so a farm was found at a conve¬ 
nient distance from the scene of my professional 
labors, of convenient size, and on convenient terms, 
and just as March w r as going out, roaring in the 
most ferocious style, I packed my family and effects 
into sleighs, and moved out over huge snow banks, 
into the old-fashioned, low farm-house I found on 
the premises. I should say, however, that from 
the time I decided on the purchase, I began to 
“cram” myself most diligently with agricultural 
knowledge. The first thing, (and you will surely 
acknowledge I couldn’t have done better,) was to 
subscribe for the Rural New-Yorker. I then got 
all the volumes of the “Transactions” I could find. 
I studied carefully the volumes on Agriculture and 
Geology in the Natural History of the State. I got 
various other Agricultural works, and pored upon 
them as Horace advised the young orator to study 
the exemplaria Gneca. I ought to mention es¬ 
pecially, that I derived great benefit from those 
two admirable treatises composing the Farmers’ 
Library, Yol. 1—Betzhold’s Chemistry, and Thaer’s 
Agriculture. The latter, though containing many 
things not applicable to the present state of agri¬ 
culture in this country, is the work of a great mind, 
able to grasp broad principles, and familiar with 
the minutest calculations and details. 
Thus crammed with “ book-farming,” I entered 
on my first practical experiences; and hardly was 
my moving finished, before I had my team at work 
Mr. Moore :—I do not observe in any of the pub¬ 
lished accounts that any person in this State, or 
in the Eastern States, has yet succeeded in making 
sugar from this article, though, according to the 
Batent Office Report, various persons situated 
farther south, have been entirely successful; in 
some oiu.of It chrystallizcd into a solid mass, with 
very little drainage of molasses, while others, at 
the west and east, after following all the prescribed 
methods, even the use of bone dust and other 
known clarifiers, have been unable to reach that 
result. 
Our climate is not warm and genial enough lo 
perfect the saccharine matter; it is in too green 
and unripe a state — the juices are like the true 
sugar cane at the south, the upper joints of that 
kind will not make sugar, and the productiveness 
of the crop, every year, depends upon the number 
of joints ripened, and perhaps we might succeed 
better; if we only used those near the root, which 
evidently contain a thicker and stronger juice 
than the upper joints; which are thin, less sweet, 
and consorted with starch, acids and gummy 
matter, that arc an absolute hindrance to chrys- 
tallization. 
All matter (and what is not matter ceases to be) 
is composed of definite multiform atoms — yea, 
every substance known in the material world, is 
wonderfully endowed by this law, to form each its 
separate duty and material. The air, all gases, 
water, the blood, all minerals and vegetables and 
their component parts, arc formed by its peculiar 
shaped atoms, invisible in most cases to micro¬ 
scopic eye. The infinitesimal globules of butter 
are so enveloped by the casein or curd, that great 
labor is required to break the enchantment and 
allow the butryaccous particles to congregate and 
form butter. So with our cane juice, but sightly 
supplied with saccharine matter, is so surrounded 
with the starchy, albuminous and mucilaginous 
material in its unripe slate, that it is impossible 
for the atoms of sugar to separate and join their 
congeners and chrystallize. The lower and ripened 
joints might realize a different issue. 
A few years since the production of silk was the 
popular hobby, and hardly any family “ with souls 
above buttons,” but what experimented in that 
mania, which was the universal topic of conversa¬ 
tion and the trumpetings of the public prints—not 
a paper, daily or weekly, but what mado this sub¬ 
ject a constant theme, until silk worms and multi- 
caulis ruined thousands. Where is the great 
speculation now ?—gone to the tomb of the Capu- 
lets. There is great danger of a like result for the 
sugar cane. Its successful operation depends on 
so many contingencies — so foreign to the habits 
and abilities of farmers in general — requiring 
strong, well-made iron crushing rollers and evap¬ 
orating pans differing from any thing in common 
use, that well-grounded fears may be indulged that 
this valuable addition to domestic comforts, and 
even as a profitable crop, will be abandoned and 
sink into the dark waters of neglect and forget¬ 
fulness. H. Y. 
-»» »- 
I?rolific Slieep. 
I have wintered twenty New Leicester and 
Cotswold ewes. Within the past two weeks they 
have dropped 80 lambs —10 pair of twins, and 10 
single lambs. Two we lost by accident, one other 
got chilled and perished. This is 150 per cent, in¬ 
crease. I have even exceeded this in past years. 
In 1856, 26 ewes of the same blood dropped 44 
lambs —16 pair of twins, 1 pair triplets, and nine 
single lambs. Berliaps others may have been more 
successful. If so, 1 should be pleased to hear from 
them. —John Baker, Macedon, N. Y., 4th mo., ’59 
(Agricultural illtsccllauu. 
The Weather lias been most unpropitious in tills 
region during the past week—“ Winter lingering in tho 
lap of Spring” to such an extent as to render out-door 
operations impracticable. On Friday night Western 
New York was visited with ono of the most severe 
north-cast snow storms experienced for years, making 
Saturday the most unpleasant day for months. Snow 
fell to the depth of four to six inches over a large extent 
of country—-from Syracuse toSt, Catharines, C. W.—and 
put a damper on tho hopes of immediate progress by 
cultivators. No special damago was occasioned, how¬ 
ever, except in retarding tho season and its labors. Wo 
trust this will prove a “clearing-up storm though 
succeeded by a heavy rain on Monday night — and that 
genuine Spring weather will soon prevail. 
Jerusalem Artioliolres. 
Last year I raised two varieties of Jerusalem 
Artichokes, one a large red, and another a white 
variety. The red is larger and yields most, while 
the white is more nutritious. The yield of the red 
variety was about fifteen hundred bushels per acre, 
and the white ones yielded over one thousand 
bushels per acre. I have fed them to most kinds 
of stock, and they arc exceedingly fond of them, 
particularly horses. Hogs will dig them, when tho 
ground is not frozen, for themselves and other 
stock. They are not injured by freezing, and arc 
very easily preserved for winter use, and can be 
aised at a cost not to exceed four or five cents per 
bushel. They should be planted early in. spring, 
but will yield well if planted any time before the 
first of May. I plant them two by four feet, with 
one piece in a hill, and cultivate about the same as 
corn, although it is not so much work to keep them 
clear from weeds on account of their shade.—L. I). 
Scott, Milan, Ohio. 
A. Good Tfenco. 
As many farmers arc now fencing, I will men¬ 
tion a kind of fence which is thought very good 
hereabouts. Itjsjwmmbination of wall and board 
fence. About and a half) is stone 
wall, and the \ )0 yjds- The posts are 
pointed and dri£P l ’. n the Abound, the wall built 
around them^JK 1 ' ' *0^* nttilod 0,1 ,o r com - 
ploios tbe fcncTT SuJ^a^'c in a frosty, windy 
country, has many advantages over every other. 
The posts and wall mutually support each other, 
and as to the topping it canuot blow off'. Fence 
made entirely of boards, stone, or rails, frequently 
gets out of repair, while a fence made as described 
stands firm and unshaken.—II. K. F., Cambridge 
Valley, N. Y, 1859. 
-- 
Inquiries ant) ^Insiucru. 
Stump Machines.— As your paper is getting to be tbo 
medium through which wo look for the improvements 
in Agriculture, Sic., will you, or some of your subscri¬ 
bers, inform us which is the best constructed stump 
machino—one the price of which will come within the 
rango of farmers in moderate circumstances? If con¬ 
venient describe so that one could be made from tho de¬ 
scription.— M. 8. Baker, Portland, Mich., 1559. 
We have illustrated and described several Stump 
Machines in former volumes—including one or 
two patent ones—but are not prepared to say 
which is the best and cheapest now obtainable.— 
We have received several inquiries on the subject 
within a few days, and shall be glad to give the 
desired information from those who can speak 
from experience. 
New Churn.— Will you please inform mo as to tho 
success of the machine for churning now milk? If 
worthy of attention, where can it he hud ? Your answer 
will much oblige— A New Suiisouiukr, Seneca Falls, 
N. Y., 1859. 
We have heard of, but not seen, the new inven¬ 
tion. A friend, who is investigating the subject, 
says the new churn is evidently the long sought 
desideratum. I)o not think it is yet offered in 
market, else it would be advertised in the agricul¬ 
tural journals. 
Bees and Bf.e-Hiver.— Will you, or some of tho 
many readers of your truly valuable paper, please in¬ 
form me through the Rural as to the best plan for con¬ 
structing an apiary? Also, of tho best bcc-hive in 
general use ? And whether you, or any of your readers, 
have used Sylvester Davis’ Platform Bee-hive, and if 
so, if a good hive?—W. G. Richey, Malone, Franklin 
Co., N. Y., 1859. 
Will you, or some of your nblo correspondents, in¬ 
form me through the Rural which is the best plan for 
constructing bec-liivcs? Also, which is the best book 
treating on bees?—J. II. Smith, Dundas, G. W., 1859. 
We shall be glad to l-cccive from some experi¬ 
enced apiarian, a good or the best plan for con¬ 
structing an apiary. As to which is the best hive, 
and which the best book, doctor’s disagree, and 
we can hardly admit replies from interested par¬ 
ties— except in our advertising department. 
Drain Tile, Ac,— I wish to inquire through tho Ru¬ 
ral if there is any place on tho Central Railroad or 
Canal, especially between Rochester and Syracuse, 
where good drain tilo arc manufactured, und tho price 
per thousand ? Also, if any of your numerous readers 
have had any experience in making und laying cement 
tile—made of water lime and sand—and what is tho 
cost per thousand.—1). J. 8., Camillas, Onon, Co., N. 
Y., 1859. 
There are, we presume, several points on the 
road and canal named, where drain tile are made; 
and the manufacturers would probably let the fact 
be known in the Rural were they not alraid of be¬ 
ing crowded by a rush of customers! 
Harrowing and 1 tolling "WTiont. 
Edward Mason writes in tlie Michigan Farmer 
as follows:—It is a well established fact, that har¬ 
rowing and rolling wheat in spring, are very bene¬ 
ficial to tlie crop, and most destructive to those 
“pests of the farm” which mar the hopes of the 
farmer. The pupa of those formidable insects, the 
“wheat” alid “Hessian” flies lie, buried in the 
earth, near the roots of the young plants, at the 
depth of about one inch from the surface, when 
they arc torn up by the harrow, and exposed pre¬ 
maturely to cold weather, myriads of them are 
destroyed. Besides the good done in this way, 
harrowing breaks lumps, fills up the cracks and 
fissures, and softens the soil around tho roots of 
tho wheat. 
Svibsoil Plowing. 
In an article upon this subject, the editor of the 
Working Farmer calls the attention of his readers 
to the advantages of the system, summing up thus : 
“ The use of the subsoil plow does not elevate the 
subsoil to the surface, and thus removes the only 
objection ever urged against its use. It does per¬ 
mit the atmosphere to enter the soil to a greater 
depth. It enables the roots to travel through lar¬ 
ger portions of the soil, and thus come in contact 
with a greater amount of food. It prepares the 
subsoil for future elevation and admixture with the 
surface soil, thus deepening all our 6oils. It does 
away with sourness of soil. It prevents drouth, 
by enabling the moisture to come in contact with 
the cold surfaces on which it will be deposited by 
condensation. No well subsoiled field ever suffered 
from drouth. No subsoiled meadows ever run 
out. For until roots arc brought in contact with 
cold and undisturbed subsoil, their crowns can 
never cease to tiller, and thus replace such crowns 
as may be broken by cattle’s feet while pasturing. 
Old meadows may be subsoiled without turning 
over tlie sod, lifting the whole field half an inch, 
suffering dead roots to decay, and new ones to 
form, admitting atmosphere and moisture, and 
regenerating the growth so that an ordinary top¬ 
dressing may cause new vigor.” 
Wool Growing X’rofPl'aljlo. 
From a recent number of the Detroit Free 
Prc<^, vrc IK.* follow ^8• "^inc importance 
of Wool as a staple is Imt just beginning to be 
realized among the farmers of Michigan and other 
States of the West. The repeated failure of the 
wheat crop in this section of the country, and its 
low price during an abundant season, have been 
causes for great discouragement to the agricultural 
community, and has compelled them to seek for 
relief from impending ruin, in some other of the 
gifts which Dame Nature lavishes so bounteously 
on her industrious votaries. The attention of the 
farmers of the Northwest having been fortunately 
directed to the breeding of sheep, the experiment 
has been found to work admirably, and there has, 
for the past three years, been a continually in¬ 
creasing clip of wool sent forward to market from 
the interior of Michigan, in the aggregate amount¬ 
ing to some millions of pounds. The prices, so 
far, have been higher, more uniform, and better 
sustained than those of any ffllier product of the 
farm and, as the Baw Paw Free Press remarks, it 
is becoming pretty certain that wool is to be, at 
least, one of the leading agricultural products. 
The market for this article is very brisk —the 
manufacturers have not a supply on band, and 
importations to some extent have taken plucc the 
past season.” 
Hop-I’oles-A Sul»stit-u.to. 
Tiios. I). Aylswortii, of Herkimer Co., N. Y., 
(says the Tribune,) lias laid the hop growers under 
great obligation to him for his invention of a sub 
stitutc for hop-poles, which have been so used up 
in hop growing districts that they are oncrousl}' 
expensive, and, as is well known by all hop grow¬ 
ers, the labor of setting a large field of poles every 
year is- very great. This labor may now be dis¬ 
pensed with. Mr. Aylswortu’s plan is to set stout 
posts some six or eight rods apart, in as long rows 
as the fiild will admit of. On the top of these posts 
a wire is drawn, and from it strings are carried to 
short stakes in the ground by the hop roots. The 
vines cliunb the strings readily, and as these give 
no shade, there is a great advantage gained in this 
respect over poles. When the hops are ready to 
pick, the wire, which is attached upon one post to 
a small iro-n shaft with a crank, is loosened so that 
the strings, which have a little wire spring hook at 
the upper end, can be unhooked, and as many 
strings taken down at one time as the picker de 
sires, and stripped in the field, or severed from the 
bottom stakes and carted to the barn. A small 
cheap cast-iron clamp is attached to each post that 
holds the wire, so that one space only is loosened 
at once, and in case of a wire breaking, the vines 
of that space only will be prostrated. The con 
trivance is altogether, both in economy and use, an 
improvement worthy the attention of all hop grow 
ers. The same plan will also answer for those who 
grow Lima beans on a large scale. J list now is the 
right time to make the needed preparation. 
That Four-Minute Churn. — In tlio Rural of tho 
2d inst., wo gave an extract from an article by II. A. 
Cook, of Columbia Co., N. Y., wliicli spoke of using a 
four-minuto churn, and churning milk “right from the 
cow,” Ac. The matter lias attracted considerable atten¬ 
tion among our readers, anil we have at least a score of 
inquiries about said churn—asking for information as 
to the facts from any ono “ posted ”—and also in regard 
to tlie butter-worker mentioned in the same article. 
We can neither answer the queries nor give tho address 
of Mr. Cook,— but presume tho churn alluded to is tho 
samo about which wo publish an inquiry elsewhere, 
and that some of our friends will ere long favor Rural 
readers witli definite information on the subject. 
Speculation in Clover Seed. —The Cincinnati 
Brice Current says that with the belief that the 
clover seed crop of last year was a failure, specula¬ 
tors went into the market and purchased largely at 
high prices. The principal purchases were made 
at six dollars, but at one time it went up to seven 
The bubble soou burst, however, and it is now found 
that the article is a drug at $4,75 to $5, and the 
stock largo. Brospcctive profits doubtlnl. 
The Best Implements— A Poser. — In a recent busi¬ 
ness letter, A. MoNary, of Christian Co., III., says:— 
“ Will you plcnse name, in tlie next number of tho Ru¬ 
ral, the best corn drill (worked by liorse)-tlio best 
wheat drill—the best combined reaper and mower— tho 
best mower (single machine)—the best reaper (single 
machine)?” We could easily name a good machino of 
caiji kind, hut wo cannot say which is positively tho 
best. That is a point on which tlie best judges, practi¬ 
cal farmers and editors, honestly differ—and of courso 
it is very difficult to discriminate in many cases, to say 
nothing of its impropriety in our position. As wo have 
frequent inquiries of similar import, wo would refer all 
to the awards of committees at Trials of Implements, 
FairB, Sic., hut more particularly to tlie testimonials of 
reliable practical farmers. Many good machines are 
advertised in tlie Rural, and frequently with testimo¬ 
nials and references whereby any ono interested can 
easily obtain satisfactory information. 
Union A a. Society— Palmyra, N. Y.—The proceed¬ 
ings of the last Annual Meeting, sent us by tho Secre¬ 
tary, show that this Society rt still lives,” and is pro¬ 
gressing. At the recent annual meeting the following 
officers were elected :— President— Lutiieu Sandfoiid. 
Vice-Presidents— W. I’. Nottingham, I’ulmyra; Kllab 
Yeomans, Wal wortli; Lorenzo Hathaway, Farmington; 
Russel Stodduril, Manchester; George W. Marshall, 
Macedon; Elihu Durfee, Walworth; Sam. II. Duel, 
Ontario. Cor. Sec'y—C. II. Rogers. Pec. Sec'y— A. I’. 
Crandall. Treasurer— G. W. Cuyler. Directors— S. 
K. Williams, of Newark, and J. O. Petitt, of Palmyra, 
for the ensuing three years,—and Lemuel Durfee, of 
Macedon, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of 
A. II. Cooper. 
An Ao. Editof. Caned! —Brother Weld, of The 
Homestead, has been presented witli a gold-headed 
cone by an admiring reader, in appreciation of hi* 
urduoua services, Ac., as the letter reads. Mr. W. makes 
a fine speech—on paper—in reply, showing that tlie 
cane is bread and butter in this wise— 11 Tho stuff is an 
excellent support for the physical man, hut in this con¬ 
nection we are reminded that ‘ Bread is tlie staff of 
life;’ apropos: bread and butter is the gold-headed 
cane." May our contemporary ever ho abundantly sup¬ 
plied, and hear his honors becomingly ! 
« Freaks of Naturf.” arc often reported in tlie pa¬ 
pers, hut this ono from tho Bluffton (Ind.) Banner is 
decidedly ahead of ordinary specimens :—“ On tho farm 
of our old friend, John A. Dean, arc two lambs, which 
are joined together, their heads being reversed. They 
are perfect in every respect, with tlie exception of the 
connection which holds them together. In sucking 
they appear to have come to a mutual understanding, 
and take it one at a time, tlie other patiently wailing. 
They follow the dam by going round aud round in a 
circle.” 
A “ Monthly Journal of tho California Stato Ag. 
Society’’was commenced in March last. Wo are in¬ 
debted to O. C. Wheeler, Secretary of the Board, and 
also to Geo. W. Wheeler, of Sacramento, for copies of 
tho initial number. The object is to give tlie proceed¬ 
ings of the Board at its monthly meetings, schedules of 
premiums offered, and awards made, with lists of letters 
received, donations to library and cabinet, Sic. 
In Office.— R. F. Johnstone, of tlie Mich. Farmer, 
lias been appointed General Superintendent of tho 
Agricultural College Farm, at Lansing, Midi. IIo 
accepts, hut will retain his connection with the Farmer. 
Glad of this appreciation of brother J.’s knowledge of 
“ western farming and western interests.” 
A Weighty Calf.— Mr. Edward Beman, of Livonia, 
informs us that lie has a calf about one month old, which 
weighed, at the time of its birth, one hundred and 
thirty-three pounds ! Tlie dam is a half-blood Dur¬ 
ham, sired by old Splendor. The calf was sired by a 
Kentucky bred Short-horn hull. 
Large Premium for a Steam Blow. —In addition 
to the premiums of $8,000 and $2,000 offered by tho 
Illinois State Society for the best Steam Plow, the 111. 
Central Railroad Co. offers $1,500 for the samo object. 
The Suckers are evidently hound to inaugurate steam 
cultivation, and that right speedily. 
State Ag. Society’s Premium List, Ac. —Wo are 
indebted to Col. Johnson for pamphlet containing Pre¬ 
mium List, Regulations, Ac., of N. Y. Stato Ag. Society 
for 1859. Copies may he obtained at the principal Im¬ 
plement Warehouses throughout the Stato. 
Son Fences. —Having noticed in eomo paper a <b 
scription for building u ditch and sod fence on marshes, 
by digging two ditches five feet apart and packing 116 
sod and dirt between, I wish to inquire through me 
Rural if you, or any of your correspondents, have haa 
experience enough in sod fences to vouch for their 
durability and utility as a fence? Also, the sue 
ditches in order to get dirt enough to build a sufllu 
fence; and also the cost per rod of building such A' « 
over and above the common method of ditching l 
II Chaffee, Dyron, Shia. Co., Mich., 1859. 
Tiik Scaii in Sheep.— At an arbitration in my nmg >- 
borl.ood it was decided by tho Referee that a sound a 
healthy sheep (Buck,) put in with a flock of sea 
sheep could not take the disease so as to shed a g 
portion of Ills wool and scratch badly in from » r y 
fifty days, but tlmt it required from six to eight mon 
after taking the scab to effect any sensible i,l J ury 10 
sheep. Will sheep men acquainted with tho sea '> S 
their opinion and ohligo a doubter?— A. Tripp, At > 
M 
